Lufthansa further expands Airbus A340-600 long-range fleet

Lufthansa German Airlines is expanding its Airbus long-range fleet with an order for seven additional Airbus A340-600 aircraft. The new order raises the total number of A340s in Lufthansa&apos;s fleet to 52. With this order Airbus passes the milestone of 1000 aircraft sales of the A330/A340 Family, reconfirming its strong position in this market segment.

The A340-600s will have about 300 seats in a three-class configuration and will be delivered from early 2008. The order doubles the number of three-class A340-600s in Lufthansa&apos;s fleet. Lufthansa plans to use the aircraft on high passenger demand long haul routes out of Frankfurt and Munich, to destinations like the US West Coast and Asia.

"When the largest operator of A340s places yet another follow-on order for seven additional aircraft it is a further vote of confidence for this highly reliable, efficient long haul machine", said John Leahy, Airbus COO Customers. "With industry leading passenger comfort, Lufthansa&apos;s many frequent fliers should certainly be pleased," he added.

"The additional A340-600 enable Lufthansa to underpin its growth in the long-haul sector. Furthermore, the aircraft play an active role in Lufthansa&apos;s ecological contribution to lower fuel consumption and reduced noise emissions", said Nico Buchholz, Senior Vice President Corporate Fleet, Deutsche Lufthansa AG.

Lufthansa is one of the longest standing and largest Airbus customers worldwide, and one of the launch customers for the A340. Currently Lufthansa has nearly 140 Airbus aircraft in its mainline fleet. These include 13 A300-600, 10 A330s, 42 A340s plus 80 A320 family aircraft in service. In addition, Lufthansa has placed orders for 15 A380s, five A330s, 30 A320 Family as well as three A340s on top of the seven announced today.

By increasing their fleet with the same aircraft type, Lufthansa will continue to benefit from Airbus&apos; unique operational commonality, including shorter training times for flight crews to transition from one Airbus aircraft to another, streamlined maintenance procedures and reduced spare parts holdings.

The A340-600 is the largest member of Airbus&apos; A330/A340 Family, the most modern aircraft in the 250-375-seater segment flying today. It enjoys state-of-the-art features - such as weight-saving composite structures, a fuel-saving aerodynamic design that includes wingtip-fences, and pilot and mechanic friendly cockpits, flight controls and systems. With four engines for the best economy on ultra-long-haul routes, Airbus A340s give unmatched operational flexibility on non-stop flights over remote areas - such as oceans, mountain ranges and the polar regions.